Retractable landing gear for aircraft may typically include a shock strut having an upper end pivotally mounted to the frame of the aircraft about a retraction axis for pivotal displacement between a vertical, downwardly extending, landing and ground support position, and a horizontal retracted positon nested within a wheel well in a lower surface of the aircraft wing or fuselage. One approach to saving space in the wheel well is to use a shrinking (or retractable) landing gear configured to shorten the length of the landing gear before or during its retraction into the stowed position, and extend the length of the landing gear when in a deployed state or during landing. A shrink safety latch may be used as a safety feature to prevent the shock strut from unshrinking while in a shortened, retracted position inside the wheel well. However, in response to the shrink safety latch becoming engaged in the event of the shock strut unshrinking, the shrink safety latch may remain engaged during the full landing gear extension and until the aircraft touches the ground with sufficient force to relieve the load on the shrink safety latch, causing a reduced capability landing.